URBANA – Four Republican candidates hoping to represent the 13th Congressional district faced off on Thursday night. They echoed similar concerns about the Biden presidency and reflected on an unrecognizable America, a “Twilight Zone,” as Terry Martin, a former political journalist, remarked. Illinois Public Media sponsored the debate ahead of the June 28th primary. Jesse…
CHAMPAIGN – Republican Congressman Rodney Davis made his first visit to the GROWMARK/FS facility outside Champaign on Wednesday. It’s the largest upright grain elevator in Illinois and stores millions of bushels of No. 2 Yellow Corn. A senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and House Transportation Committee, Davis says he’s working to promote job…
CHICAGO — Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, the Republican with the most money and best polling position so far, served as a political pinata Thursday for his five GOP rivals for Illinois governor during their first public debate with him on the same televised stage. Topics during the hourlong WLS-TV/Illinois League of Women Voters/Univision debate ran…
URBANA – Democratic candidates, Nikki Budzinski, a former aide to President Joe Biden and Governor J.B. Pritzker and David Palmer, a businessman and former basketball player, met last Thursday for an Illinois Public Media-sponsored debate. They largely agreed on the issues plaguing Americans but differed in a few key areas. Gun violence After the recent…
URBANA – There were few disagreements in a debate between the Democratic newcomers hoping to represent the newly drawn 13th congressional district, which stretches from East St. Louis to Champaign. David Palmer, a former basketball player, and businessman, and Nikki Budzinski, a former aide to President Joe Biden and Governor J.B. Pritzker, debated on Thursday…
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Republican lawmakers in Washington have condemned the mass shooting in Texas but they’re defending gun rights. US Representative Rodney Davis issued a statement calling Tuesday’s shooting “pure evil,” but says taking guns away from law-abiding citizens won’t stop the violence. He proposes strengthening school security, investing in resource officers, and gun safety…
WASHINGTON — In the wake of the 27th school shooting of 2022, Democrats in Congress are asking for more than thoughts and prayers. After the death of 19 children in Uvalde, Texas, today’s discussions on Capitol Hill centered around the need for bipartisan action to curb gun violence. U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, whose 17th Congressional…
URBANA — In 2018, when Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons took office, there were only 10 early voting locations in the county. This year, there will be 30. “I’m trying to do everything I can to increase the participation from voters in a midterm election.” That’s why we’ve been pushing vote by mail so much,…
URBANA – Both the Democratic and Republican candidates in the 13th Congressional District will take part in debates in the coming weeks. Illinois Public Media, WAND News, and The League of Women Voters of Champaign County are sponsoring the debates. Democratic newcomers Nikki Budzinski and David Palmer will debate live on Thursday, May 26 at…
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin held a rare press conference Monday that turned into repeated questions about the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade. The fundraising frontrunner among Republicans in the Illinois governor’s race repeatedly dodged questions Monday about his stance on a possible national abortion ban and whether he voted for former President Donald Trump…
URBANA – Former Illinois Congressman Tim Johnson has died. Johnson’s former chief of staff, Mark Shelden, reported his death on his Facebook page on Tuesday morning. An obituary published on Sunday May 15 in the News-Gazette and at the Renner-Wikoff funeral home website says the 75-year-old Johnson died Monday night at Carle Foundation Hospital in…
Abortions will still be legal in the state of Illinois if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the federal constitutional protections enshrined by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. But Planned Parenthood of Illinois president and CEO Jennifer Welch warns the state would become an oasis in a Midwestern “abortion desert” if a draft majority opinion…
Daniel Krause, owner of the restaurant Cracked near the University of Illinois campus, said he went into debt to stay open during the pandemic after student workers left to go home and customers stopped coming. Ashlee Rhodes, the general manager of Jarling’s in Champaign, said she was forced to reduce the business’s hours every week…
Before closing out its truncated spring legislative session earlier this month, the General Assembly approved language that will be put to voters in November, asking whether Illinois should amend its constitution to add a so-called “Workers’ Rights Amendment” to guarantee the right to collectively bargain in a state with a long tradition of strong organized…
The Peoria metropolitan area is shrinking in population, with the combination of deaths outnumbering births and more people moving away, resulting in a decline of nearly 3,000 people between 2020 and 2021. “Obviously, it’s disappointing information; we always are hoping to grow our region,” said Chris Setti, CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council….